1. I was taught that when the Ātma and Mana come together they form the spirit.

it. That which is binding these two together and is the spirit is what we call the
Chara Ātmakāraka.
2. The Sun is the Vedamukha. Specifically the movable sign in trines to the Sun is that specific Veda that Brahma is reciting and is the basis for the
calculation of Prāṇapada in the chart. So the Sun is speaking the Veda. From the Ātmakāraka we are seeking the Veda... or atleast we hopefully are seeking
it. If Rāhu eclipses the Sun then you are not able to hear the Veda and you need a Guru to teach you. If Jupiter is in a trine to Lagna then you are able to
fully receive the Veda and this becomes a blessing like Śeṣa nāga yoga.
The Soul cannot become weak, but the spirit can. When that happens the soul wants to leave the body.
3. Nīca means fallen and in D-9 it means ones dharma has fallen and this is never auspicious. In other vargas nīca can be positive as it gives huge momentum
to achieve something. In D20 it makes one very detached. Still, this has to be compared to the position of the nīca planet in the Rāśi Chart to understand the
exact impact on the individual... yet Ātmakāraka debilitated in the Navāṁśa will bring its difficulties with it.

When understanding the state of the planet as being exalted, own sign, etc. we must appreciate that the state of the planet refers directly to OUR state and daśā shows
WHEN that state comes in our life.
So, when a graha is nīca it is like Mahāvidyā. The graha has gone to the deepest darkest waters and has tremendous momentum to rise OUT of it. one has fallen to the
lowest and cannot fall anymore, therefore one can ONLY rise, rise, rise! And then when you rise the final goal is Śrī Kaḷikā shining like 12,000 Suns!. Hence to bring
the lotus out of the mud we worship Mahāvidyā.
When a graha is uccha it is like Śrī Viṣṇu... the Rāja or king. You will mostly see Viṣṇu depicted in the richest and finest garments and accesories to show his
grandeur and oppulence. He has reached the highest peak, above all others and has even taken over the entire universe... problem is that he cannot rise beyond this and
everyone with exalted planets risks a terrible fall from this peak if they cannot maintain this. Hence Viṣṇu's blessing is that he sustains whatever we are doing and this
is necessary to maintain the Uccha graha, like a king maintaining rulership.
The key is to understand what this means in the various divisional charts:
Ṣaṣṭyaṁśa (D-60: The potentiality of our karma and how we will act towards the world as a result of past experiences. It is here that our traits and choices are rooted,
as well as our likes and dislikes. So a nīca planet here means we are able to rise from a very low place, whilst uccha means we can maintain a very high position.
Navāṁśa (D-9): The fortune or luck we enjoy because of past karmas. Here we are interacting with God and are shown the RESULTS of our past karmas. A nīca
planet here is difficult to deal with because God shows us that we have not acted propperly in the subjects pertaining to that planet and there is LOTS of room for
improvement. An Uccha planet is a blessing as we have acted in the best ways, but we will also be tested many times.
Rāśi (D-1): How the past life karmas take place in a tangible world. If our life was a bustrip then D-1 would be the type of bus we take, D-9 would be our luck with
the trip and D-60 would indicate whether we make that bustrip a nice ride or terrible one.
Now when you put Ātmakāraka into this you get to understand which seat we are taking during this bustrip. I.e. are you sitting next to the driver, in the back with the
bullies, on an empty seat alone, or chatting up the pretty people who are holding the handle bars, etc. Here the Rāśi of the AK shows the nature of the seat, the
Navāṁśa shows whether you will be sitting in it comfortably and the D60 shows what you will do about sitting in the seat.